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Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Sew for Dad Tutorials: Day 2

We're back with another tutorial for a Father's Day gift idea (although this could easily be repurposed for anyone...girl or guy). We hope you enjoy this tutorial from the Benartex blog design team--so quick you can make it in an evening!--and then don't miss the fabric giveaway at the bottom of this post.

How do you give black and cream a little extra contemporary flair? Add red accents. We used the black colorway of the Venezia collection from Contempo (it comes in blue as well) to make this versatile travel case for dads--perfect for phone and iPad charging cords or even bathroom toiletries! We couldn't resist the red zipper, piping and elastic band to add a little zip to these fantastic monochromatic fabrics. Fun for dad and fun for you!

Materials:

1/3 yard small black circles print

1 fat quarter black stripe

1 fat quarter mottled black

2" x 15" red solid strip

11" x 17" batting piece

7" red zipper (or 9" zipper)

12" Wrap 'n Fuse Piping

1/2 yard red 1/8" wide elastic

1/4 yard black 1/4" wide elastic

Fabric marking pen or chalk

Cutting:

From the black circles print:

Two 10" x 15-1/2" pieces

From the black stripe:

Two 5" x 12" pieces

From the mottled black:

One 10" square

One 2-1/2" x 10" strip

Two 2" x 4" pieces

From the red solid:

One 1-3/8" x 12" strip

Make the Travel Roll:

1. Following manufacturer's directions, envelop the fusible piping in the 1-3/8" x 12" red strip and press with iron to make piping.

2. Align the red piping along a long edge of one 5" x 12" black stripe piece, matching raw edges. Layer the second 5" x 12" black stripe piece on top, right sides together. Pin to secure and then stitch. Hint: Use your zipper foot to get closer to the piping.

3. Fold so the wrong sides of the black stripe fabric are facing and the piping is peeking out the top edge. Press.

4. Layer the 11" x 17" batting piece with one 10" x 15-1/2" black circles piece on top, right side up. Measure in 4-3/4" from the right edge and draw a line with chalk or marking pen (shown in blue in the picture below). Square up one short end of the stripe pocket piece and align along the marked line on background. Trim excess from other short end. Measure and mark two lines on the stripe pocket to create multiple pockets. (We measured 2-3/4" and 5-1/4" in from the left edge...shown in blue below.) Stitch along the two marked pocket lines, backstitching at red piping to secure.

5. Fold each 3" x 4" black mottled piece in half wrong sides together so it measures 2" x 3". Position so folded edges are just past the top and bottom of the zipper as shown and stitch in place. Press pieces back to make the zipper end tabs. (Note: if you use a 9" long zipper, you don't need these tabs.)

6. Fold the 2-1/2" x 10" black mottled strip in half wrong sides together so it measures 1-1/4" x 10". Sew the folded edge to the zipper and tabs. Fold the 10" black mottled square in half wrong sides together so it measures 5" x 10" and sew the folded edge to the opposite side of the zipper and tabs. Trim sides of tabs to a 1/4" seam allowance.

8. Lay the pocket right side down on the background, matching the long raw edge of the pocket to the marked line (shown in blue below). Stitch 1/4" to the left of the marked line and fold the pocket back. Trim to square up the piece and remove excess batting. Topstitch the long side of the pocket opposite the zipper if you like.

9. Cut two 3-1/2" lengths of black elastic and fold the ends under 1/4". Measure up 2-1/2" from the red piping and center elastic over wider pocket (center area) and two narrower pockets (left area). Sew elastic ends between 2" and 2-3/4" apart to create space to tuck something into the elastic band. Backstitch ends to secure.

10. Cut a 15" length of red elastic, fold in half, and stitch ends to create a loop. Center along the right edge of the top piece with raw edges matching. Lay the 10" x 15-1/2" black circle print piece on top, right sides together. Stitch around all 4 sides, leaving an opening along the top for turning. Turn right side out, poke out corners, and topstitch around outer edge, securing the opening. You're done!

Fill with cords for electronic devices, toiletries, or whatever else might need to be packed for a trip!

Fold or roll the filled travel up and use the red elastic to secure.

You can win a fat quarter bundle of Venezia! To enter, simply sign up to follow the Benartex blog via a blog reader or follow by email (both options are in the right hand sidebar) and leave a comment telling us you did so. For a second entry, like us on Facebook and let us know you did so. Also, in your comment, tell us your favorite dad memory. This giveaway is open through Saturday, June 14 at 11:59 EST. Don't miss our other Sew for Dad tutorials:Day 1: Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation with a quilt using Who's on First

46 comments:

I also like/follow you on Facebook. My dad has a sweet tooth and likes to go out for gelato, pie, etc. He always starts off by saying "you know what we ought to do?". His retrievers quickly learned this meant a car ride and a stop for a small cheeseburger for them. When they hear that sentence they go crazy happy. : )

I also follow you on facebook. My favorite dad memory is my dad teaching me to drive - he was so good and I was so awful - he finally made special flags stuck in concrete coffee cans and everyone was so impressed he ended up teaching all the neighborhood kids to drive!

I'm an email subscriber. My Dad just passed in April at the age of 94 and I have lots of great memories. One thing he used to say when I was in my teens, 20s and 30s was: "This is the greatest time of your life. Do as much as you can to enjoy it. Time passes faster as you get older." It didn't make any sense to me then, but the years do seem to pass more quickly. I miss him.

Great idea! I can see this project for many uses. Dad taught me how to lengthen the train on my wedding gown that I was making. He had worked in an apron factory as a teen, and knew how to do many sewing related things, and I hadn't known that before we worked on my gown. I follow via email.

I follow via email and GFC. As a teenager I enjoyed gymnastics on uneven parallel bars. My Dad, the plumber, built a set for my sisters and I in our backyard. Out of metal plumbing pipe. Not very flexible, so my hip bones constantly had bruises on them. But my sisters and I sure had fun all summer.

I follow by email. My favorite memory was the time my Dad went to a Brownie spaghetti dinner with me. It was really special having my Dad be there with me. He gasps been gone 20 years now, but I still think about him almost every day.

I liked you on FB. My favorite dad memory ..ah too many to share just one, but the one thing I really remember was his love for the garden. He had a terrific green thumb and when I remember him, it's out in the garden, golf hat on, digging, trimming, pruning, harvesting!

i follow via email. my favorite memory was when i was five years old. when dad was at work i convinced my mom to let me fix supper. i was going to make cornbread but mom had went outside to hang clothes up. she left the box of laundry detergent on the table, that was when detergent was in a box and grainy like corn meal. i thought it was corn meal and used the detergent to make cornbread. after it had cooked, dad ate a piece. his face turned beet red and he started gagging. but dad toughed it out and swallowed it. needless to say i was never left alone in the kitchen again! babscorbitt@gmail.com